Boots the Overlander
by Ailat
Summary: "You know, Boots, that used to be your room. Only room in this old house with air conditioning. You, Grandma, and Lizzie would sleep there. No wonder you go straight for it. Guess she remembers a bit of New York after all." Boots returns to the Underland.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:**** Well, hi there!**

** This is what's been plaguing my mind ever since I started rereading the Underland Chronicles again. I'm glad I get to brush up on my prophecy writing skills. **

** I actually haven't read many UC fics, so I have no idea if this is an overused idea, or what, but I hope I'm not stealing anybody's fic. I'm not gonna stop now.**

**Enjoy!**

Boots couldn't sleep.

Why can't New York City ever be quiet?

She knew that she always told people she was from New York instead of the small town in Virginia that she'd grown up in, but honestly, this was getting ridiculous. Every five seconds, there was a siren, car horns, cat howls, people yelling, loud music…the list went on and on. At least in Mineral, Virginia, she could get some peace and quiet.

Besides that, she'd only lived in NYC for the first 3 years of her life. She didn't even remember it that much. A flash of her sister sledding with her, a glimpse of cockroaches-only, they seemed a lot bigger than usual. When she mentioned that to her mother, she'd been told that bugs in NYC were a lot bigger than in Virginia and she'd been a lot smaller then. Other than that, all she could remember was growing up in Virginia near her grandmother's old farm. She'd left it to them in her will. They'd moved there right after she died.

They were only in New York now for Lizzie. Now, at the age of 19, she was moving out and going to college at Cornell. Boots had always known that her super smart sister would be accepted in an Ivy League school.

Boots, her mother, and her father were staying at her older brother's house, which was only about 15 minutes away. Gregor had moved to New York as soon as he'd turned 18. Boots had only been 9 at the time, but she vividly remembered the argument it had caused. Their mother wanted him to get an education and to stay away from New York, but Gregor adamantly refused. They didn't speak to each other for the whole week that Gregor packed up his things. Then, once he was walking out the door, did is mother break down and hugged him till he was gasping for breath. They made up then. Boots later overheard her mother talking to her dad about how Gregor had moved into their old apartment building. Boots hadn't understood what the big deal was, but the look her father had on his face when he heard that was unmistakable. But they didn't speak of it again.

Now they were here again, and Boots even remembered bits and pieces. She'd gone in and gone straight to the door of her brother's room. Gregor had laughed.

"You know, Boots, that used to be your room. Only room in this old house with air conditioning. You, Grandma, and Lizzie would sleep there. No wonder you go straight for it." He'd laughed again, turning to their mom. "Guess she remembers a bit of New York after all."

Their mother had positively steamed at him, giving him her trademark '_say one more word, mister, and you're grounded'_ look. But Gregor had just chuckled again and stepped into the room.

Boots was sleeping in the room where Gregor had slept when they'd lived there. Although, calling it a 'room' was being generous. It was an oversized closet with a mattress shoved in. and she wasn't exactly sleeping.

Thinking enough was enough, Boots stood and opened the door quietly. She tiptoed out to the kitchen and glanced at the time. 2:46 AM.

She glared at the city out the window in the living room.

"Shut up," she muttered.

The city ignored her.

Sighing, she opened the front door, planning to go on a bit of a walk in hopes of tiring herself out.

Once she was outside the building, she took a deep breath, and regretted it. The air in New York didn't taste the same as the cleaner, fresher air in Virginia. You couldn't see the stars, but the full moon glinted dully off of her golden brown curly hair.

She ventured down to the building's laundry room. It felt vaguely familiar to her, and she turned around the room, looking for something without knowing what. She saw out of the corner of her eye that there was a grate on the wall, just large enough for someone to fall into. Its cover was unlocked, and Boots glanced at it from a few feet away, curious. It seemed to go down, but according to Gregor, the laundry room was the bottom of the building. She stepped forward and felt a slight breeze emanating from the hole. _Maybe it's just an air vent_, she thought, still leaning towards it.

All of the sudden, she lost her balance and tripped over, just catching herself on the wall. She paused a moment to get her breath back. What if she'd fallen?

And then the breeze coming out of the grate picked up and she felt herself being sucked into the hole, the grate closing behind her as she fell.

Boots was too busy screaming to notice.

She screamed her head off. She'd never been afraid of heights or falling, but when she couldn't see anything in the blackness of the hole, it set her off. What was worse, the breeze, which had been very faint outside of the grate, had picked up and seemed to push her down faster. This realization only made her scream more, but it felt like the sound of her screaming was being carried down with the breeze. She reached out with her arms to try to touch the walls of the hole, but they didn't seem to exist. _And for that fact_, she thought, _where's the bottom? _She imagined falling all the way to the center of the earth and being burned alive at the earth's core.

_Great,_ she thought. _I'm gonna die at 15. _

But suddenly, she slammed into something. At first, she thought that she'd finally found the bottom of the shaft, but then, she realized that the 'ground' was much too…furry.

Boots sat up, panicky. She was riding on something large and definitely furry.

"Greetings, Overlander," purred a voice. Boots looked around, but saw no one. "You're lucky that I heard you screaming, for the currents are not survivable at the moment."

At last, Boots noticed the wings and recognized the shape of the animal. It was a bat, a huge one, the size of a horse. And it was _talking_ to her.

"I'm dreaming." she said. "I finally fell asleep and now I'm dreaming."

"No, you are most assuredly awake," said the bat.

"Sure, sure," muttered Boots. She was much more confident now that she knew she was asleep. You can't die in dreams. "So where are we going?" she asked the bat a while later.

"To Regalia. You will meet the Underlanders there. I am she called Theia. Who are you?" it –she- answered.

"You should know. You're part of my subconscious, a figment of my imagination." Boots said dejectedly. At the moment, this dream was rather boring. They'd been flying for probably 5 or 10 minutes now and nothing but dark tunnels had appeared.

If bats could sound exasperated, this one did. "I promise you, you are not sleeping!" she exclaimed.

At that moment, they flew out of a tunnel and into light.

Boots gasped. They flew over a beautiful stone city. It glittered with torches that threw dramatic shadows over stone carvings on the sides of everything.

Theia was flying as if the city was nothing to be noticed. Boots craned her head around to try to see everything, heedless of falling off. Somewhere in her mind, she knew that the bat would catch her long before she hit the ground.

Boots could every once and a while glimpse violet eyes and pale people in the city. They all seemed vaguely familiar, as if she'd had this dream before. She remember a snippet of what must have been the dream –her waving at the people and saying hi; only a few people saying hi back. It had been a lot harder to see then, and she was sitting on someone's lap.

Soon, a large wall came into view. It was slick and handhold-less. They flew over it with ease.

Theia went into a landing in a big room where no one was. No one, but one man, waiting for them. He looked almost…familiar, with his grey hair, strange clothes, and warm smile.

"Who is that?" Boots asked Theia. The bat answered with a simple "Vikus."

The name brought back a rush of memories of the nice man with a warm smile who was always present and talking to Gregor. Once, she'd been riding something and she'd seen Gregor looking not very happily at the man and Boots had been worried that Gregor was angry with the nice man, but then Temp had distracted her.

Temp. Where had that come from? The name was very recognizable. It made her think of the large cockroaches that her mother told her lived in New York. And a lot of riding, and clicking. A dark haired boy clicking with them.

Boots shook her head. She'd have to think of this later, because Theia had landed and was waiting patiently for Boots to get off. The man named Vikus was talking with Theia, asking her where she'd found her and how she got down here. Then, Vikus turned to Boots.

"You look rather familiar," he said, sounding puzzled_. Tell me about it_, Boots thought. "What is your name?"

"Me?" asked Boots. "My name is Margaret. But you can call me Boots."

"Boots‽" the man exclaimed, looking shocked.

"Yeah," she said self-consciously. "My family calls me Boots 'cause when I was little I used to take everyone's boots in the wintertime and because of this musician my dad liked…what?"she demanded. Vikus was staring at her like she'd invented a time machine.

"You do not recognize me?" he asked in astonishment. Boots was a bit taken back.

"Uh, well, a little, but I figure I've just had this dream before, or maybe you look like someone I used to know…." She trailed off, unsure of her dream theory now.

Vikus chuckled. "My dear, you are not dreaming. You are back in the Underland."

"Back?" she asked, completely thrown now.

"Yes. You came as a baby, only 2 or 3 years old. We've much catching up to do. It's a wonder you don't remember it. It was quite an experience. You and your brother had many dangerous adventures," he assured her.

"My brother?" She felt like she could do nothing but repeat his words. It was slowly coming back.

"Yes, Gregor. Our Warrior. He visits often now that he's moved back to New York." He chuckled again. "Luxa was certainly pleased."

A flood of memories came back to her. Of the Underland. Of Gregor fighting. Of Luxa and Temp and Hazard, and Howard, and Aurora, and Thalia, and Ares, and Vikus.

It was then that she decided she wasn't dreaming. And then that she passed out.

**A/N:**** Sooooooooo? Whatcha thinkin'? Tell me by clicking the big green button beneath the text.**

**(It's right here)**

**V**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**** Thanks to Eulaliaaaa, kittyksu, and thiscouldmeandanger for reviewing!**

** Here's the second chapter, obviously. And just so you know, it'll start picking up after this chapter. Gotta get all the happy reunions in, right? Just suffer through now and it'll all be over soon. ;)**

** If my fanfic is the food of the Underland, read on! (-mental giggle-)**

When Boots woke up, she found herself in a white room with another familiar face looking at her.

He was definitely Hazard, but he looked so much different from the 7-year-old boy that she remembered. His angular face was just as pale and bright green eyes just as piercing, but they held so much more knowledge. He seemed regal and distant. And _old_! He had to be –she did some quick mental math- 19 now! He definitely looked it.

But then he smiled and his cheerful disposition showed, and he seemed a little younger. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up a bit and said, "Hey Boots. Remember me?"

Boots sat up and smiled back a bit. "Yeah. Now I do." Her head ached, and she rubbed it absentmindedly.

"Vikus could not catch you in time and you hit your head hard on the stone floor. The doctors say that you have a slight concussion and that you should rest as much as possible. And that you'll have quite the bruise." Hazard chuckled.

Boots felt fine. She looked around at the hospital room. It was very simple, with just the cot she was on, a few chairs by the door, and a table for the doctors tools next to the cot.

"So how's life been?" she asked Hazard. "What's happened since…well, I don't even really remember what happened the last time I was here. I only remember faces and names."

Hazard gave her the rundown of her and Gregor's adventures in the Underland. Boots remembered something every now and then. When Hazard recounted the mice, she thought of furry white snouts and plumbs. When he mentioned the fireflies, she exclaimed, "Fo-Fo and Zap!" which set him off laughing until she could get him to tell her why.

Then, Hazard started in on the new stuff. He told how Howard and Nike had bonded and Ripred was now the most trusted of the rats and how Luxa had become queen, and under her, they'd had a good 12 years of peace. He told of how he had become the Royal Ambassador, seeing as he spoke the languages of almost every creature in the Underland.

At this, he paused. Then, he clicked his tongue rhythmically.

The clicking tugged at something in the back of Boots's brain. She almost recognized it. But why?

Then, it clicked. Literally.

"_Do you still understand crawler?"_ he'd asked.

Boots started to answer excitedly, but found she could not. She bit her bottom lip, thinking hard. But all she could manage was a _"Yes."_

"But I can't speak it!" she'd hurried on, before Hazard could continue. "I understood you after a moment, but I can't think of how to respond!"

Hazard nodded. "Vikus said you probably would not. You were so little when you learned it and you haven't had any practice or exposure to it since then. Apparently, this is quite common with people who don't practice a language, even if they were once fluent."

Boots wanted to see more of the palace, but as soon as she stood, Hazard hurried to make her sit down again. She frowned up at him and he shrugged apologetically. "The doctors told me expressly that you were not to stand."

"That's right!" someone said. A doctor swept into the room, his expression mirthful. The smile and face made her think of bathing. Boots frowned, very confused. She knew this person too. And then…

"Howard!" she proclaimed, finally putting the face with a name. His eyes twinkled as he came forward.

"Boots, how you've grown!" he said, grinning. "Last I saw you, you were the size of a nibbler pup!"

Howard checked her vitals as she mentally translated 'nibbler' into 'mouse'. With a tsk of his tongue and a gleam in his eye, he said "You look fine now, but concussions are hard to judge."

"I feel fine, not dizzy or anything. Can we just look around really quick?" Boots begged. Howard pursed his lips.

"One hour. No more. Come back immediately if you feel dizzy, nauseous, or have much more pain than a headache. And try to stay away from crowds. People should be up by now."

"By now?" Boots asked. A feeling of dread filled her. "How long was I out?"

"Approximately 5 hours." Hazard supplied. "It was –how do you say it in the Overland? The dark of the night?- so we assumed you were tired."

Boots did some more math. 2:30 plus five hours would be about… 7:30.

That wasn't good. Everyone would be up. They were supposed to go help Lizzie unpack today. Everyone would be looking for her. Her mother would be furious.

_Great,_ she thought, _Mom's gonna throw a cow. She'll find a cow in New York City and she'll throw it._

Giggling at the mental image, she said "Actually, can I just go home? My family will be looking for me."

Howard frowned. "You should not travel so soon. You are still injured. You're lucky I am letting you leave for an hour. Going back before you have healed could cause more damage. I'd say you should stay at least a few days, at best a week. Do not fret," he said, catching Boots's expression. "We will send a note up to your family. Gregor visits at least weekly in any case."  
>At least appeased for now, Boots smiled weakly and thanked Howard. Then, she and Howard left the hospital.<p>

It was hard not to sneak. Everyone gave her strange looks, as if they knew she was the Warrior's sister. The princess. She rolled her eyes at the nickname.

Hazard set out though the palace, keeping a watchful eye on her. He had a destination in mind, she could tell, but along the way, he'd stop and point things out, like the nursery and the war room and the code room. Things he knew she might recognize. He seemed determined to make her remember every moment of her time in the Underland.

Finally, they reached the High Hall. Boots didn't really remember much from here. However, she recognized one thing- the rat.

A giant six foot rat was lounging on a far wall. His grey fur was slightly matted and two scars met across his nose.

He looked up at her. She could see surprise in his eyes, but his voice was very unconcerned. "Oh, look, the pup is back." Ripred drawled. Boots didn't move. She used to be terrified of the rat and was only easy around it if Temp or Gregor were near. Now, neither one was present.

A voice laughed from the doorway. "She's not exactly a pup anymore, Ripred." Boots could see a tall Underlander woman out of the corner of her eye, which she still hadn't taken off of the rat.

Ripred scoffed. "She's still about the size of one," he said, pushing off of the wall, moving towards the woman. Boots followed his path with her eyes to the woman.

She was very tall and her silvery blonde hair hardly brushed her shoulders. Her violet eyes were playful and stern at the same time. On her head rested a golden bejeweled crown. It was Luxa.

In a moment, Boots relaxed. She trusted Luxa, she remembered, and she didn't know why that should change.

In another moment, Boots processed what Ripred had said and blushed. It was true; she was rather short for her age. At 5' 2", most people her age towered over her. Gregor always teased her that she'd gotten her mom's short genes (Gregor had been taller than her by the age of 13). She'd retort back that he stole all of their dad's tallness.

Luxa came up to Boots and offered her her hands in greeting. She smiled down at her. Boots gave a tiny smile in response.

"I spoke to Howard about you on the way here. He said you were well grown. It is good to see you again," she said good-naturedly.

The mention of Howard made her wonder if their hour was almost up. She _was_ getting a bit tired and her head was tingling like it did before it started aching.

But instead of saying anything about it, she said, "Did he get a note up to my family?"

As she said it, a bat flew in with astonishing speed. Someone leapt off of it with a well placed jump. They landed a few yards away from the group.

"He didn't have to," said the man. He was storming towards them, staring at Boots like he was going to kill her and laugh at the same time.

It was Gregor.

**A/N: Just like to mention again how amazing Aliexia and Aurora are for giving me ideas. The rest of the story will be under their loving guidance and I figured they should get a little credit.**

**Tell me what you thought. They invented something just for that purpose. Some weird site called…fanficiton or something like that. Where people can get responses for their writing. ;)**

**Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Sooo….**

** How is everyone else?**

** Doing well?**

** …Cool.**

** …**

** Let's just get on with this. I can't think of a single witty thing to say.**

Gregor was positively furious, Boots could tell. But at the same time, some mirth showed though his anger.

As he swept towards her, Luxa surged forward, smiling at Gregor so fervently, that Boots felt that the smile Luxa gave _her_ had to have been fake. Gregor allowed himself one quick kiss on her cheek before continuing his journey towards Boots.

"So, you found it again," he said. "You know, Mom's throwing multiple cows out windows at the moment. I told her that there wasn't anywhere you'd be other than here. She keeps railing on about how she never liked New York and how every time she's here, it seems like someone disappears and how you never should have come to New York anyway."

Boots felt a little bad that he had to sit through that lecture. But she was about to say something back when a wave of dizziness swept through her. She stumbled and Hazard caught her arm.

"I need to take her back to the hospital," he said, leading her towards the exit.

Gregor about flipped. "What wrong? What happened? How'd she get hurt?" He followed them on their trip to the door until Luxa pulled him aside to explain.

Hazard took her back to the hospital room, where Howard was waiting disapprovingly.

"You were supposed to bring her back before this," he tsked. He had her lay down and he pressed something to her lips and ordered her to swallow. The pain in her head was growing, so she obliged.

It knocked her out in seconds.

_**(squiggle)**_

Boots was getting annoyed with this whole 'lets-knock-Boots-out-every-five-seconds-and-watch-her-to-make-sure-she-doesn't-do-anything-crazy'

But once she woke up, she found Luxa looking conflicted as she sat in the seat by the door. Her eyes were slightly red and puffy and she seemed flustered.

"You ok?" Boots said. Luxa jumped and looked at her guiltily.

"Yes, yes, I…I'm fine," she answered slowly. They sat in awkward silence for a moment and, after trying to think of anything to talk about, (including the weather, Abe Lincoln, and life) Boots settled on a question.

"Where's Gregor?"

Luxa winced visibly and for a moment, her face showed such panic that Boots wondered if she should have gone with the Abe Lincoln thing. But then she answered, "He returned home to tell your family of your condition."

"Oh…" Boots said. Again, the silence turned awkward.

This time, Luxa broke it.

"Boots…" she started, but Ripred broke into the room.

"Luxa, those idiot council members want you again. Still trying to crack the prophecy. I don't know why you reinstated a council in the first place. You're a perfectly level headed queen and you're not absolutely clueless," he said as he nudged her out the door. Maybe it was just Boots, but the words seemed to hold a double meaning. Luxa smiled faintly. He gave her a significant look and the smile left, replaced by a face that was close to tears.

Boots was very confused. What prophecy? Why was Luxa crying? Since when was the big rat nice?

Luxa composed herself and strode out of the room with a "Farewell," thrown at Boots almost as an afterthought. Boots _hmphed _and shifted her weight on the bed.

Ripred looked at her and she battled down her fear enough to look back at him. "What's going on?" she asked.

The rat snorted. "Just as demanding as before, I see. Well, it depends on what you're talking about."

Boots ground her teeth together. "With Luxa."

Ripred gave her a long gaze before slouching more against the door. If anyone had been trying to get into the room, it wasn't happening now.

"For one thing, your brother proposed to her. Big no-no around here. And then-." He was cut off by Boots squealing.

"He proposed! That great! When's the wedding? It'll have to be down here, it'd be ridiculous to have it in the Overland, but my mother will have fits coming back. Ooh, do you guys have some kind of shmancy ritual? Like the bonding? Oh, do you have nice dresses? I want to see Luxa's! It's be made of the spider stuff and…" Boots trailed off, as Ripred grimaced at her. "Wait…she did say yes, didn't she?"

"She couldn't. She didn't say anything. Totally froze up. 'Course, the idiot boy thought she was rejecting him and he stormed off, back up to your family. And Luxa's been crying and as soon as they heard about it, the council decided to drop the prophecy on her and she's determined to go 'for the good of my people', but of course, it's just to get away from Regalia." He rolled his eyes. His impression of Luxa had been amazingly accurate.

"What prophecy?" Boots asked. Sighing, Ripred pushed himself off of the wall.

"I'll show you."

Glad to be leaving the boring white room again, she stood shakily. Watching her tilt back and forth, trying to get her balance, the rat said, "I'll give you a ride. We'll get there faster."

Remembering the last time she rode on the rat cleared her head with fear. "No, I'm good. Let's go."

Ripred kept a pace that was just within her ability to keep up with. In only a few minutes, they'd reached a wood door that was ajar. Boots was reminded of that old joke '_When is a door not a door? When it's ajar,_' and she giggled. The rat looked at her oddly, and she smoothed out her face and pushed the door open.

Inside was a room filled with words carved out on all surfaces. Some were large, and took half of their wall; others were so small that Boots couldn't read them from the doorway, despite her excellent vision. '_ABC,'_ she thought, flashing back to the first time she'd stayed in the prophecy room. All she remembered was being very bored, and Gregor and Temp were there…

In the corner, Vikus stood, looking at one of the medium sized prophecies. He turned to look at them and with a muttered "hello," he turned back to the prophecy.

Ripred led her to where he stood. He said, "So we've come for the same reason. What make you of it, girl?" His nose poked her lightly in the back, pushing her a little closer. Vikus moved to make some room.

_Death will come to those who wait_

_To those who forget the tunnelers' wake_

_You must be aware_

_Or be torn apart_

_By the monsters who live in the dark_

_Larger than our largest hall_

_Taller than the tallest wall_

_They come again_

_Back from the blue_

_Ready and waiting to start anew_

_Help will come to those who want_

_From her who has the Warriors heart_

_She will have help _

_She will have friends_

_But only with her will the trouble end _

_The lost princess, back again_

_Make sure her quest goes not in vain_

_They shall not see_

_She shall not speak_

_Or everyone's death the tunnelers' seek_

"Well, it's plenty depressing," she said, scoffing. But the looks Ripred and Vikus gave her told her not to make light of it. Her fingers found the word _'tunnelers' _and lightly traced over it.

"Who are they? The tunnelers? I don't…recognize the name."

"No one knows." Vikus answered, sounding slightly hoarse. "The only mention we have of them is this prophecy here. We thought they were the diggers, but we are on good terms with them at the moment. Assuming we have the timing right, it would not be them threatening us."

"Why do you say the timing's right?" Boots asked. "Why now?"

Ripred hesitated before answering. "Because your brother, our 'Warrior', proposed. Meaning he has given his heart to Luxa. If you remember, Luxa was once lost to us. She has returned and she holds his love. So the prophecy is beginning to reveal itself."

His voice had an odd tone to it, making Boots wonder if he really believed the words he just said. Boots herself didn't. The timing was weird. Luxa wasn't even a princess anymore. She'd returned long before. And she'd always held Gregor's love.

Vikus didn't seem to notice this. "So the council-."

"Wait up," Boots interrupted. "Ripred said that Luxa didn't need the council anymore now that she's queen. Why does she have it then?"

The old man and the rat shared a long significant look. Vikus explained.

"Again, it was the influence Gregor has brought us. He spoke often to Luxa about your democracy. She decided to have a more democratic country and reinstated the council to make some decisions. As queen, she can overrule anything still, but they have some power. And they are elected by the people."

'_Like England'_, Boots thought. From what little she knew, that was mostly how England's government worked. Of course, there was something about the prime minister…. Whatever.

"As Vikus was saying before you so _rudely _interrupted," Ripred drawled, "the council has been planning Luxa's quest, without a clue as to where they're going. All they've planned so far is that they are going to send them to the Uncharted lands. But those exist all around us. So they've decided to send them past the jungle. We've heard rumors from the nibblers that still live there about the ground shaking often. The closer they get to the edges of their maps, the stronger it gets."

"Earthquakes?" Boots said. She _did_ remember her Earth Science classes, and she knew that the real beginning of earthquakes were underground. In the Underland, they must be phenomenally stronger than on the surface.

"No," Ripred said. "We've had earthquakes in the past; they're much more destructive, even if they're far away. The shock waves travel better here. An earthquake that the nibblers could feel would be an earthquake that we could feel. We think it might be something different."

"The tunnelers?" Boots said almost skeptically. "Maybe it's just-."

"Overlander," Ripred cut in quickly, "we've decided it's the tunnelers. You're not going to change the council's mind. The 'lost princess' is going on the quest."

Boots was about to argue when a voice creaked from the doorway, "She returns! Be back, the princess, be back!" Boots turned to see a four foot cockroach at the door. It was Temp.

"Temp!" she exclaimed. She rushed for him and gave him and awkward hug.

"_You have grown,"_ Temp clicked in Crawler, sounding almost disgruntled. Boots laughed.

"Yeah, I don't suppose you could give me rides anymore. I'm too big now," she commented.

"Temp," Vikus said. "Would you be kind enough to lead Boots back to the hospital? I believe they will be looking for their escaped ward."

Temp bobbed his head and turned with Boots's hand between his antennae. He happily clicked away about what had happened since she'd been there. Even though she already knew about it all, Boots let him. She enjoyed the Crawler practice. And every once and a while, he'd murmur, "Be back, the princess, be back!"

Something nagged at the back of Boots's head every time he said this. She'd translated it into 'the princess be back' and then modernized it as 'the princess is back.' And it reminded her of something…

'_The princess _be_ back. The _princess_ be back.' _She tried different inflections, but none of them satisfied. She twisted the words around and back in her head.

But it wasn't until Temp elaborated that she understood.

"Be back, the princess, be back! Lost, you were, to us, lost. But returned, again, you have, returned!"

Boots gasped. The puzzle pieces in her head fell perfectly together.

_The lost princess, back again._

The prophecy.

The princess wasn't Luxa!

It was her.

**A/N: ****Did anyone else think that I was making Temp sound like Yoda? I was going for the Crawlers' broken English, but I think I kinda failed.**

**Review and tell me!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N****: OK, I updated this so quickly because I forgot to update the last chapter till yesterday. I was practically done with this one when I remember that I only had two chapters up. For the most part, my updates will be a couple days apart, unless I get grounded, and then it will probably take more than a week.**

** So read on!**

Boots was so nervous, she hardly slept at all.

The quest party was leaving at night so that they could reach the nibblers by what counted as 'midday' to the Underlander.

Howard (along with Luxa, Ripred, a few guards, and all of their bats) was going on the quest. The council had decided to keep it to as few people as possible, so Boots knew they would never send her for fun, and she didn't have time to convince them she was the princess. But as Howard was working a night shift in the hospital that day, they had decided that they would let him work and that, at the meeting time, they would send for him and he could sleep on the way there.

Boots had heard all of this from a disgruntled Hazard. He'd been dying to go back to the jungle, even for a little bit, but everyone had insisted he'd stay. He'd told her that he had a sneaking suspicion that everyone expected him to be king if/when Luxa died.

Boots had worked out that her hospital room was very near the door of the hospital wing. So she decided to simply watch out her door and wait for Howard to come by.

She'd nodded in and out of sleep, awoken by footstep which she'd thought were his, many times before, finally, Howard strode by her door, a leather pack over his shoulder. A guard whose name Boots didn't know followed.

Once they rounded the corner, Boots slowly counted to five before peeking out her door again.

No one was in her hallway of the hospital.

Boots slipped out and quietly snuck through the main doors. Once she was out, she went towards the museum. Hazard had showed her the museum and told her how Gregor had always consulted the items there before going on a quest.

So Boots quickly collected a few flashlights and batteries, a water bottle that hadn't been opened, a few squished granola bars, some trail mix, and a black hiker's backpack. Someone's combat boots were next to the wall, which she gladly traded out for her thin, Underlander slippers.

A dull glint caught her eye and she moved to investigate.

It was a pocket knife. One of the really cool ones with tons of attachments that her mother would have never let her have. After a moment's hesitation, she snatched it up and hurried out of the room.

It took a bit of backtracking, but soon she found Howard and the guard again. Thankfully, there was no one else up, so theirs were the only footsteps anywhere near. She followed them behind corners and occasionally ducking into doorways.

Quite suddenly, her head was pounding. She managed not to make any sound, but she had to stop and clutch her head for a moment while the pain stopped.

A moment was enough to lose them again.

_'Great,'_ she thought, headed towards the next corner. _'My whole sneaky sneaky mission was pointless since I can't even tail-,'_

Her thought were interrupted by a warm, tall wall that jumped back quickly, and then, just as swiftly, leapt at her and slapped a hand around her mouth, muffling the strangled sound of surprise that tried to burst from her lips.

She pushed whoever it was away from her and looked up to see their face in the torchlight.

Lime green eyes stared back at her.

"Hazard?" she hissed. His face turned puzzled. He wore dark traveling clothes and had a leather bag much like Howards over his shoulder.

"Boots. Are you-?"

"Yeah. You too?"

"Yes. But why-?"

"Later. We need to move!" Boots whispered. Hazard glanced over his shoulder and nodded. He began to walk swiftly and Boots nearly had to jog to keep up with his fast pace and long strides.

"I know where they are meeting. I've arranged for a friend of mine to fly me… I suppose us…after the others. Once we're in the nibblers land, my friend will leave and we'll meet with them. Then, they could not send us back. They would not send their own bats."

Boots felt foolish. She hadn't even thought of them sending her back. Somewhere in her head, she'd just assumed that they wouldn't care once she was there. She was suddenly glad for the pain in the hallway. It gave her a much better plan than she'd had.

Hazard led her to the High Hall. A familiar bat with a dark gold coat waited.

"Hey, it's Theia!" Boots said, recognizing the bat as the one who had saved her. Theia nodded her head.

"Greetings, Overlander. Greetings, Hazard. You did not inform me that she was coming as well. Both of you are being rebellious?" Theia had a faintly disapproving tone about her. Hazard just chuckled as he mounted and helped Boots up.

"Theia does not approve of my pension for breaking rules my cousin sets for me. She is a good enough friend to not say anything, and to occasionally help, but never actively. She is much too goodhearted for such skullduggery, while I have had too much influence from my cousin to respect authority well." Hazard grinned as they took off.

Boots fell asleep on the ride there. She rested on the back of Theia's head, with Hazard's promise that he would wake her when they landed for rest.

Boots did not sleep peacefully. It was the first time she had dreamed since landing in the Underland and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Boots never seemed to have good dreams. In all her memory, she either didn't dream, or had nightmarish pictures race through her mind.

This was definitely a nightmare.

She dreamed that Theia was flying over water. The water was churning in a whirlpool and tentacles reached for her from the deep. Theia was having a hard time dodging the tentacles and

Had to flip and twist just to avoid one.

Hazard fell off and he was suddenly a rat, Ripred's size. He was pulled into the whirlpool, his green eyes staring at her as she urged Theia to save him. Once Hazard went under, all the tentacles fell off of at the tips and the water calmed.

Theia dived to try to find Hazard, only suddenly, the water was land and they crashed, Theia hurting her wing so they couldn't' fly. Boots tried to find food for her, but brightly colored frogs kept leading her off in different directions.

A particularly green one turned around and said to her, "We're here Boots."

Fed up and annoyed with the frogs, she yelled, "No we're not, you idiot! Stop leading me in circles!"

Her eyes flew open and hands flailed out. The right one connected with something hard and she withdrew quickly, realizing that she'd been dreaming. She sat up, much too fast for her aching head, and saw Hazard rubbing his jaw.

"It is true that we are not quite there yet, but Theia needs to rest. We only have a few hours left. And we flew in circles to find a decent place to land," he said, sounding kind of hurt.

"What?" Boots asked, completely confused. Her head cleared of its morning fog and she corrected him. "No, I was talking to the frogs. Well, there are no frogs, I thought there was one. Well, I dreamed there was a frog. And he was leading me to food, only he wasn't, well, not well…" She trailed off, seeing how lost Hazard seemed. "Nevermind."

"Well, Theia is resting. We are very close now. There lies the jungle." Hazard pointed in the distance to a blur of green as tall as she could see. Around them was a flat plain of rock. Hazard had already started a small fire and Boots could see Theia sleeping across the way.

Boots frowned.

"How did I get off of Theia?" she asked, not understanding. Usually, her family had to wake her completely to get her to move anywhere.

"I carried you over to here. You are not much of a burden," he said casually.

Boots blushed. She found herself looking at the muscle that she could see on his arms.

_'Bad Boots,'_ she scolded herself. She was glad Hazard didn't seem to have noticed.

They sat in silence for a while before Hazard decided to try to re-teach Boots Crawler. He began by clicking sentences at her, which she translated with little trouble. Then, he moved on to asking her questions. At first, she could only stumble out a word or two. But after a bit, she began to feel the fluidity of it. The clicking held hints of words which she neatly copied in her own voice. By the time Theia woke, Boots could practically speak the language again.

The two mounted and they sped off towards the jungle, conversing about everything in Crawler. Every once and a while, Hazard would try to squeal something out in Bat to Theia, but he would only catch half of her response.

In no time at all, they were flying over a small lake of clear blue water. Theia landed and some mice appeared out of nowhere. Hazard talked with them and soon had directions to the caves where the other s were waiting. Apparently, one of the guards they had brought had a very large bat that carried Ripred over the jungle alongside the others. He was still resting. Once he was ready, they would be headed off into the Uncharted land.

"Are you sure you want me to leave?" Theia asked again, fluttering her wings in agitation. "What if you need me again?"

"We will be fine, Theia. I don't want to get you into trouble, so it would be better if no one knew who brought us here. Besides, we're seconds away from the others. From _Ripred_. Who would we be safer with?" Hazard assured her. As soon as they'd landed, he'd been taking deep breaths and had a calm, confident grin permanently fixed onto his face. He looked immensely happy to be back in the jungle.

With one final warning to "Be safe, and do not do anything foolish," Theia flew off.

Hazard turned and smiled at Boots. "Let us go," he said cheerily.

He led the way up the rocks behind the pool and through some light foliage until they reached a large area with natural caves carved out. Each cave mouth had a curtain of leaves covering its mouth.

The very furthest cave held the others, according to the mouse. Hazard practically skipped over and paused dramatically at the door. Then, he pulled aside the leaves to reveal a rather spacious cave holding five sleeping bats, five surprised humans, and one blasé rat.

Luxa hardly had time to jump up in rage and shock before the tremors started.

**A/N:**** Just so you know, Boots and Hazard are NOT going to get together. It was just a fifteen year old girl ogling at a hot nineteen year old boy. Nothing further. **

** Reviews make me happy!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: ****I know what you're thinking.**

** 'Oi, what's your problem‽ You make us wait forever and then give us a dinky little chapter with nothing exciting in it to boot! What up?'**

** Well, I needed a filler chapter. But then I didn't have enough stuffing. And I couldn't get rid of it well. So you're stuck with it.**

** Next chapter, the fun begins. Hang through, people.**

The earth shook under their feet, stopping whatever Luxa had been about to say in its tracks. Pebbles that lay around the cave rattled and jumped on the floor. The leaves rustled. Howard stumbled a bit as he tried to stand. To Boots, it felt as if they were on a giant cell phone that was set to vibrate.

It only lasted maybe 20 seconds. Then…

"So that's what they meant." Ripred said. His voice lacked the usual sneering tone, meaning he was actually surprised. Luxa spared him a glance before turning back to Hazard and Boots.

"You are supposed to be in Regalia, Hazard. And Boots! Your brother will kill you. Why are you here? Both of you must go back at once!" she said, speaking very quickly.

"Boots, you are still injured." Howard protested. The three guards watched them all, seeming to be unsure of what to do. Boots guessed that they were waiting for a command from Luxa.

"Yes, but we cannot go back now. We have no bat to take us, not enough supplies to walk, and you cannot spare anyone's bat for such a journey." Hazard said cheerfully.

There was a silent moment as they processed that. A moment that was broken by Howard's laughter.

Luxa looked sharply at him and he stopped, but he still smiled. "I laugh because this is just what _you_ did, cousin, on the way to find the Bane. Oh, he has learned much from you, hasn't he?" Howard chuckled again.

"Just because I did it does not mean that you-!"

"Oh, and you're the only one allowed to be rebellious in the Underland, are you?" Hazard shot back, almost smugly. Luxa looked furious beyond words. She spluttered a bit, and then fell silent in rage.

"And what," Ripred broke the silence, "exactly do you mean by coming along? Hazard at least, I understand- you obviously miss the jungle. But why have you come?" he asked Boots, scurrying towards her with such alarming speed that she didn't really see him move.

Boots made a really intelligent sound, like, "Eek," before she got her wits about her.

"I- ah, er-I think you're wrong. In your interpreting. Of the prophecy." she finished lamely.

One of the guards spoke. She was a shorter woman, barely taller than Boots, with eyes that were a darker shade of purple than normal.

"And what makes you think that?" she asked, her voice heavy with skepticism.

"I-because, I'm the princess." Boots said nervously.

No one moved, so she plowed ahead.

"Well, that's what the cockroaches called me. And I've been gone, right? And I just came back. Of course Gregor loves me, I'm his little sister. And he's loved Luxa for forever, right? So the timing can't be right, 'cause she came back forever ago as well and being proposed to hasn't changed much, has it, for her? Plus, she's not a princess anymore, she's Queen. She hasn't been a princess since her parents died, right? Besides, that's what all your stupid prophecies called me anyways. Back in the day. I was the princess, wasn't I? And Gregor was the Warrior, Hazard told me.

"And," she racked her brain for more proof, "the prophecy said something like 'the princess, back from the blue' and in the Overland, we have the sky, and it's blue. So, obviously, I'm the princess. And I thought you couldn't do your little quest thingy without me, but I knew no one would believe me in time, so I followed Howard out of the hospital and ran into hazard and we came here. Cause we needed to be here. Right?"

There was another silent moment. Then-

"You certainly have your brother's way with words- that is to say, lack of coherency." Ripred remarked. Boots blushed a deep shade of red. "Well," he said, throwing himself onto the floor, "she's convinced me. I was never convinced Luxa dear was our princess in the first place. You've got to admit that the girl's version makes much more sense than that council's does."

"But-" one of the guards, a very tall man with near white hair, tried to protest before being cut off.

"I agree," Luxa said in a weary yet strong voice. "Boots's interpretation must be right. She fits the prophecy much better than I."

"Come," Ripred said in a softer voice. "We should all get some rest before our journey."

"Wait, we're leaving today?" Hazard asked. Luxa's eyes flashed.

"I did not say you were coming!" she exclaimed angrily. Ripred's tail whacked her lightly on the back of the head.

"Don't be stupid, of course he's coming. He and the princess," (he said this very scathingly,) "appear to be a package deal, is that right dear?" Boots glanced at Hazard and nodded determinedly. "Oh, you are very like your brother, that much can be said of you."

"Will you stop saying that?" Boots growled, glaring at the six foot rat. "You seem to know everything about how my brother acted and find me exceedingly like him. I get the point. Oddly enough, I'm very similar to someone I've known for my whole life and have been in close contact with for 9 years."

And to her great annoyance, he laughed loudly and walked away, muttering to himself, "Just like the boy, I swear, they don't make them like that in the Underland. The courage of a lion with the wits of a Crawler."

Boots ground her teeth together, but did not say anything.

Luxa looked like she wanted to argue, but didn't. Instead, she said, "Yes, we are leaving as soon as the bats awaken."

"We've had rest," Hazard said. "You may sleep and we will wait."

Luxa nodded and she and the others began to fall asleep.

Boots and Hazard sat on a large boulder near the entrance to the cave.

"So, you used to live here, right? Near the mice?" she ventured. Hazard sighed a little mournfully.

"Yes. I grew up here with my father and Frill, who was a hisser." Boots didn't know what he meant by a hisser, but he continued before she could ask. "My mother lived with us for a while, but she died. I hardly remember her. But I remember the jungle. I remember that, when I went to Regalia with Luxa, how cold it was at first, and how strange it was to be incased by stone as we were in the palace. It was so…brown there. But now that I am back home, it seems alien. Too hot, too green, too open. I find I miss Regalia. But I am still glad to be back…." He trailed off, lost in his own thoughts.

Boots felt like she should say something, but she couldn't think of anything. She'd never had a way with words, and she couldn't even say that she could relate. She didn't remember New York at all- she hardly remembered the Underland.

So they sat in silence, each trying to remember their childhood homes.

**A/N: ****Well? I promise it gets onto the quest next chapter. **

** Reviews for the poor?**

** P.S. I totally saw HP 7 ****1/2****at the midnight showing! Who else?**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: ****Let's do some roleplaying!**

**You: HOLY CRAP! WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE? YOU MEAN TOO TELL ME THAT AILAT'S NOT ACTUALLY LANGUISHING IN A FIERY PIT OF PROCRASTINATIOIN ANYMORE? SHE'S ACTUALLY **_**UPDATING**_**?(Interrobang)**

**Me: Yes. Indeed I am.**

**I know, I've been gone for **_**way**_** too long. But, to make it better, I've formulated a list of lame excuses!**

**Band really wiped me out and it just ended (in October…)**

**I've been really involved in stuff. The one acts were intense (in the beginning of November)**

**I lost this story and had to copy what I had from FF onto my OneNote thingy! (took me less than an hour)**

**So…yeah. But today's my birthday, so I'm using my "sleep in" privileges to write. Aren't you happy?**

**Lets get on with this, shall we?**

A few hours later, the bats awoke. They woke up the rest of the party and they packed everything up. Luxa and Hazard went out to thank the nibblers, leaving the others to prepare for the journey. Howard and three of the guards were going through the many baskets, presumably checking to make sure they had everything. Seeing the woman with the dark purple eyes strapping up the already checked baskets, Boots headed over and tried to make small talk.

"So…," she started, "I'm Boots. What's your name?"

The woman looked at her seriously. "Meline," she said in her resonant alto.

"Mel-ee-neh?" Boots repeated. The name didn't roll off her tongue quite as nicely as it did for Meline. "That's pretty."

Meline just looked at her.

"Erm…so, why are you on the quest? Did you get elected or…" Boots quailed under her intense gaze.

"I chose to come," she said proudly. "I will stand by my queen, especially when some-"

"Some won't. Yes, we know, Mel. The age old speech of loyalty." said another guard. He was very tall and broad shouldered. His hair was a darker shade of blonde than usual, and his eyes were more periwinkle. His voice had an accent…almost Australian. When he came over, Meline's rough appearance seemed to melt. "Ello, there, darl'. Name's Tobias. And, cause I can tell you're wondering, I'm a son of a halflander. 'Spose you could call me a quarterlander, eh?"

"My husband spent his childhood in the Overland, accounting for the darker skin and hair. And also, the strange way of speech." said Meline. Boots didn't see the darker skin till Tobias wrapped his arm around Meline's small shoulders.

"Oh," she said, surprised. "You're married?"

"Yes, and-"

"Oi, lovebirds! Stop letting the Princess distract you and get back to work!" Ripred growled from the front of the cave. "Pup, do something to make yourself useful."

Tobias shrugged and walked away to finish his work. Boots turned to Meline. "Would you mind if I helped you?"

With her husband gone, Meline toughened up again. "I do not need assistance, but you may watch me. It is an easy job I have been given." She sounded slightly resentful of her 'easy job'.

She turned back to the bat she'd been strapping up. Boots looked around and saw that only the largest bat, the grey one who had carried Ripred, was being prepared to leave. The other's all seemed to be getting more comfortable.

"Are we only taking one bat?" Boots asked.

"We only need one," was all the answer she got.

In a few minutes, Luxa and Hazard returned and they were ready to leave.

"We'll be walking whilst Cratus, the flyer, flies above us with our supplies." Hazard said to her."We do not anticipate terrible battle, but if there is, you, Luxa, and I will escape on Cratus and leave the others to fight." He sounded very disgruntled about this plan, but Boots thought it made sense. Luxa was the queen. She couldn't fight and he was heir to the throne. A glance at Luxa's face showed that she wasn't thrilled with this plan either.

"Wait, they're leaving their bonds?" Boots asked. Hazard had explained the bonding to her in the hospital.

"Yes. It is necessary. No one is happy about that, but Ripred thought that we needed as small a party as possible and the council wouldn't let Luxa go anywhere with less that two guards. Excluding Ripred himself. "

Looking at the group ready to go, Boots saws that one of the guards was staying with the bats. The other, with the near white hair, stood joking with Tobias and Howard. Meline and Ripred were looking at a map and Luxa motioned at Boots and Hazard to join them.

They began to walk in silence and Boots was glad for the combat boots she'd jacked from the museum. In the thin slippers they'd given her, she wouldn't have made it 10 yards. Once they were past all of the stone caves, the jungle began to thin out. The stone became darker and more frequent.

"Father and I never went this way. The mice said they'd never charted this land, that their ancestors had warned against it. That was enough to keep him from taking me." said Hazard in a low aside.

"I wonder why…" she whispered back.

"Gee, lets think. Maybe because they foresaw a problem. Like, oh, the ground inexplicably shaking." Ripred called from the front of the group, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Do not mock her. This is not familiar territory for any of us. That can cloud your judgment." Howard said, with a small frown. Hazard nodded. Boots blushed, but she was glad Hazard didn't laugh at her.

For a while, they simply walked. No one spoke much. Nothing phenomenal happened.

Just as Boots was thinking the words '_I'm bored_,' the plants disappeared. In the place of trees and shrubs was a very large wall of stone. It reached up incredibly high, and was made of the same dark brown stone. There were many little cliff like structures on it's face, but the only way past it was a single tunnel right in front of them.

The tunnel was about 50 ft in diameter in an unnaturally perfect circle about 5 ft off the ground. There was no light in the tunnel, and it's entrance was surrounded by and ivy-like plant that curled around, but not into it.

Cratus came down from above, landing neatly. "It goes all the way up." he said, sounding shaken.

"All the way up?" asked Howard, sounding amazed. Everyone looked up into the darkness.

"Seamlessly. And it goes all the way to the Waterway and curves on the other side very far into the jungle. I did not want to go too far from you to explore more." he said, fluttering his wings nervously.

"Now what could have made that?" muttered Ripred to himself. He stood on his hind legs and sniffed in the tunnel. Suddenly, he leapt up into the tunnel and disappeared from sight.

Luxa stepped backward a bit and then ran at the wall. She sprung up and caught the ledge with arms. In the same movement, she pushed up on her hands and caught her feet on the edge. She stood, brushed herself off, and walked in after Ripred.

Unsure if they should follow, Boots and the rest of the group waited. Then, Luxa came back to the edge.

"It's safe. Come up." she said.

They walked closer to the hole. People like Hazard and Tobias had no problem. Cratus simply flew up. Hazard simply caught the ledge with his arms and pulled himself up. Howard did a running jump like Luxa's, only with less flair. The guard whose name Boots didn't know kind of shifted himself up in an awkward sort of way using his entire body. Tobias, without a word, grabbed his wife around the waist and practically threw her up, all while she complained about how she could have done it herself. Then, he turned to Boots.

"Would you like me to lift you as well?" he asked kindly. Boots blushed again.

"Um, no. I think I can get it." she lied. Tobias looked doubtful, but he pulled himself up.

Boots looked at the ledge. She bit her lip. There was no way she'd make that jumping. She couldn't even see up there without standing on her tiptoes. Boots took a step back and thought. Then, she got an idea.

She tugged on the ivy-like plant. It was thick, like a vine, but it came down easily. She held a length about 8 ft long in her hands.

"Er, Tobias?" she called. His face came back into view. She threw one end of the vine up. "Catch."

And catch he did. He held the vine, understanding her plan.

Using the vine as a rope and thinking of the rope they had to climb in gym, she pulled herself up, foot over foot, hand over hand, till she was high enough to sit on the ledge. She swung her legs around and stood.

Tobias smiled at her as he wound up the vine. "Might be useful later," he said, tucking it into his pack.

Boots looked around. She could see nothing more than a few feet away. From out of the darkness came Ripred's voice. "I don't recognize the scent, but it's old. Whatever was in this tunnel last has been long gone. Light the lanterns."

A bit of shuffling about and a soft, warm glow came from the small glass lantern in Howard's hand. Soon, he, Meline, and the guard whose name Boots still didn't know (she decided to refer to him as Mr. Guard Man from now on) each held a lantern.

Boots could feel a gaze on her back. She turned to see Ripred looking at her. "Resourceful. Hmm…" he muttered, almost too low for her to hear. Then, louder, he said, "Took you long enough to get up. We were waiting _ages_. Let's get a move on, people!" He then proceeded to nudge Mr. Guard Man forward with his snout. He stumbled a bit, but caught himself and began to walk. Everyone followed into the darkness.

**A/N: ****So, dramatic enough? I felt very dramatic while writing it. It took me three days to write this, so it won't be my birthday anymore when you read this. My birthday was Thursday (yes, Thanksgiving).**

**Your birthday presents to me could be reviews!**

**Please?**


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